Julie James: Yes, I would entirely agree with you. There was a good report from the auditor on public services boards, and they're relatively new. They are taken into account in the regional working group that the WLGA has, which I mentioned in response to an earlier question. The WLGA is doing some good work alongside its colleagues in health around how we can spread good practice across the public...
Julie James: I think it was a very good report, and, in fact, it gives me the opportunity to plug the public services summit that I and the First Minister will be addressing tomorrow, which runs over two days in the Liberty Stadium, down in Swansea, with the exact purpose of spreading good practice far and wide in Wales, along the theme of one public service for Wales. Academi Wales is actually an...
Julie James: So, we're very much in the space of encouraging all local authorities with plans that are more than five years old, which that sounds like it is, to be in the review process. The whole purpose of the plan-led process is to keep it up to date, so that, as new developments become apparent—zero-carbon building possibilities, air quality issues and so on—the plan takes those into account....
Julie James: That's obviously out of competence for the Assembly, but I certainly think that something needs to be done, in terms of remedial impact for some of the pieces of work that we've seen. Only today I met with house builders in Wales to discuss a way forward, and to set out our ambition for better homes, better space standards, better carbon design, better community planning, better placemaking,...
Julie James: Just to say on that, actually—I should say that my colleague Vaughan Gething, in his Assembly Member capacity, is bringing some people to meet with me for exactly that purpose very shortly.
Julie James: We have a range of things that we're doing. A number of the questions that are coming up in this session are around what we're doing about building safety and regulation. But we are in a difficulty where some of the private sector landlords have not been able to step forward or, actually, in one really very difficult situation in my own constituency where a range of people have gone bankrupt...
Julie James: Yes. So, the forthcoming Bill has a range of arrangements in it for collaborative joint working. It will have a device called a corporate joint committee that will allow a legal entity to be formed between local authorities who wish to work regionally together. There will be four mandatory areas on the face of the Bill as it's introduced, Deputy Presiding Officer, although, obviously, we are...
Julie James: Well, it's a national sport, really, in local government to argue about the costs or savings associated with any reorganisation. What is clear is that if you do a mass reorganisation, those authorities become inward looking as people look to see that their jobs and services are protected. We do not need inward-looking services. We need outward-looking, collaborative, efficient services. So,...
Julie James: That's just not how it works. What we believe in is that democracy should be as close to the people as humanly possible, for the decisions to be made as close to the people as is possible. I'm very surprised, given your background, Mark Reckless, that you don't concur with me that that kind of subsidiarity is what we should be looking for in local democracy. So, what we say is that one size...
Julie James: There is no evidence that large councils are more effective or efficient than small councils. Our local government Bill will empower councils, reform and strengthen local democracy, create conditions for improved delivery of local services, and provide a robust framework for authorities to work on a regional basis where there are advantages in them doing so.
Julie James: The distribution sub-group of the partnership council works very hard on the indicators across the piece. We have a constant review group working very hard on making sure that the indicators are as they are. The local government family is itself responsible for this, and Anglesey, as many other councils, have seats on both the financial and the distribution sub-group. The leader of Anglesey,...
Julie James: Yes, I've some sympathy with what the Member is saying about the situation that local authorities find themselves in across Wales. I just want to start off by saying that I'm very happy to join him in congratulating Ynys Môn. Llinos has done an amazing job there. She's a very inspirational young woman, the sort of person we should be attracting into politics in greater numbers. She's been...
Julie James: Yes. I intend to announce the provisional local government settlement on 26 November, a week after the planned Welsh Government draft budget. This will provide details of the core funding for councils for 2020-21. Alongside the settlement, I will publish early indications of specific grants for the coming financial year.
Julie James: My officials and I continue to work with those responsible for the safety of individual buildings in Wales, including local authorities, fire and rescue services, landlords, managing agents and the developers and construction companies responsible for building the homes where defects have been found following formal inspections.
Julie James: Local authority services play an essential role in the lives of the people of Wales. The Welsh Government continues to protect funding for our local authorities so authorities can continue to provide these vital services, both statutory and non-statutory. Local service delivery, however, is for local determination.
Julie James: The National Infrastructure Commission for Wales will publish its first annual report next month, as intended.
Julie James: In response to our call for evidence on the delivery of housing through the planning system, I have today published a consultation on proposed changes to 'Planning Policy Wales' and associated advice and guidance. This includes the proposed revocation of technical advice note 1, including paragraph 6.2.
Julie James: Local authorities are autonomous organisations, responsible and accountable for the licensing services they provide, and ensuring those services are appropriate to the communities they serve.
Julie James: Yes, I completely agree with that analysis. When the action plan is published next week from the group, you'll see that they address both intentionality and local connection, and they make some proposals for us to be able to deal with that in the short term and then in the longer term. And, as I said, we have a positive response to it. I only saw it yesterday, but I'll be putting a detailed...
Julie James: Yes, I completely agree with the points you've made there. We are aware that people will not go into temporary accommodation if it means leaving their beloved companion outside, and absolutely rightly so. So, we are working on making sure that we have provision for people who have a beloved pet that they're with. You quite rightly say that often they're their only companion, trusted...
